Me and Rebecca rappelling (called abseiling there) off the side of Table Mountain in early 2013. You can see the mountain in the next pic on this page.
SO… Cape
Town. Why in the world did we decide to
move here, halfway across the world? Well, Rebecca has been involved for years in economic development work in
Africa. I have mentioned how she was
about a year into her contract in Mozambique and about to move to Chicago to
start a life with me when I had my accident.
Her passion has always been Africa.
Out of college, she spent nearly a year in Ghana as part of a volunteer
organization, teaching in an orphanage and doing media analysis on the side
(she once had an internship with CNN).
She’s been yearning to get involved somehow again on that front. Ideally it was to be a position in the US
with measurable impact in Africa.
However, those jobs are not too common.
And, in Chicago at least, there is no shortage of well-educated folks
pursuing the few jobs in that sub-category.
We discussed ways to impact using business. Her brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and
Leah, are trying to do just that in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Obviously I spoke from the business-logic
side of things, mostly. That was my contribution. As we brainstormed, Rebecca got excited. However she didn’t feel like she had the
experience necessary to pursue something like that, as there is a fair amount
of risk. She started looking at going
back to school.
Originally
she looked at getting a masters degree in International Relations, a
continuation of her undergraduate degree.
After talking with some friends and after all of our business talks, she
realized that an MBA would probably provide the education while simultaneously
making her more marketable in the general job marketplace, should the need
arise. I already have an MBA from
Kentucky from 12 years ago (??? OLD MAN!).
So I was biased, but believed that it was a smart move.
We began
getting her prepped for the GMAT. I
helped with the math stuff since I’ve always been a math guy, much to her
annoyance. As things progressed, it
turned out there were a handful of MBAs that had programs with classes focusing
on emerging markets. The ones in the US
were not the best, but at least they had the program she wanted. The ideal option turned out to be the
University of Cape Town, which not only had a focus on emerging markets, but
also courses on doing business with corrupt African governments, a focus on
personal development and growth, and a new business school approach that
focused on overall impact instead of just making money. She applied and I held my breath.
The idea of
moving to Africa made me nervous for multiple reasons. I knew the infrastructure wasn’t even
comparable to the US when it came to accessibility. However, we visited Cape Town for Valentine’s
Day 2 years ago as a side trip from Mozambique and I remembered how great it
was. By now you know where this is
going. Rebecca was accepted and after
much deliberation (and many of my spreadsheets), we decided to sell all our
furniture and fly over with just 5 suitcases, story our other knick-knacks in
my parents’ basement! The program is
only 11 months and intensive. So I will
barely see her and she will graduate this December. We are committed to stay at least that
long.
Cape Town
is a really cool city. It is basically a
1st world city in a 3rd world country, which they like to
say down here. The weather is comparable
to Los Angeles, with far less traffic and no smog. The culture is very laid back. People seem to work 8:30-4:30 and then at
4:31, they are out of the office. That’s
certainly new to me compared to Chicago.
Right now it’s about 72 degrees and sunny here, with pretty strong
winds. They call the winds the “Cape
Town Doctor”, since they blow out any pollution and make the air fresh
again. Fun fact for you.
Even though
Cape Town is growing rapidly and the economy is booming, unemployment is at a
staggering 26%. 26%!!! In the US we panic at 7%. There is a huge, HUGE, population of
under-educated that are essentially poor in varying degrees. More than half here don’t graduate high
school. For that reason, and as an
aftereffect of Apartheid, the jobs are protected from foreigners and minorities
are given high priority. The interesting
part is that there is also an incentive for employers to hire the disabled,
even more so than in the US. However, I
don’t qualify since I am not a citizen.
Bummer! Good to know for the US,
though.
Luckily, I
have been told that I qualify for something called a Critical Skills Work Visa,
thanks to running my own business. So
hopefully I will find some income-paying work.
It is supposed to take months to get that, however. I am not going to sit around and wait. I will be seeing if I can network, find a
church, hopefully find a choir or two, possibly volunteer, and mostly try and
write a book. I have talked with an
agent about it and while I haven’t been signed or anything like that, it was
suggested that I write in the form of memoirs.
I’m not sure it will lead anywhere but I have the time so I’m going to
pursue it until it doesn’t make sense.
Writing this blog is part of that.
It helps me to document things for anything I might need it for in the
future – talks, a book, a basic reference, whatever.
Aerial view of Cape Town. The donut-looking building is the "football" (soccer) stadium that was built for the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa.
So that’s
the logic! It’s been about a week here
now. We made sure to spend a lot of time
with friends and especially family leading up to our flight. It worked out well that we moved things to my
parents’ basement (THANKS MOM AND DAD), so that we could stay with them for 11
days in Kentucky, relax, go to church, play games, pack, etc.
Hanging out with the family for a late Christmas in Louisville.
Rebecca and I trying to get our last hugs from Tucky just before heading to the airport.
Dad and I playing in their basement. I played the whole game standing.
The whole Battoe gang in Dallas just before Thanksgiving.
The Maier clan posing on statues in Albuquerque. I would have climbed on one of the statues to pose but... I didn't.
The most
depressing part that I haven’t wanted to bring up is that it didn’t make sense
to bring Tucky. Too costly ($7000
round-trip??? Lots of shots, special
travel, etc.) and too traumatic of a
travel experience for a dog. We didn’t
want to do that, especially if we end up only staying here a year. So she is with my parents, who of course are
already loving her to death since she’s the best dog in the world. I’m not just saying that, I swear. She’s the best dog in the world. Go visit my parents and see.
We have
Skyped (read: video chat) a couple times
already. The last time, my mom showed
Tucky the iPad with my face on it talking to Tucky, who then proceeded to get
excited, walk to the iPad, lick the iPad, put head down in disappointment,
whine, and finally go pout underneath the kitchen table. She is part human, I swear.
Tucky wondering if she is in trouble for chewing up her new toy.
I’m trying
to make an effort at making these blogs shorter but I seem to have failed
again. So I’ll stop here for today. In a few days I'll post again about
the experience here since moving. Also hopefully pics of the sweet new apartment we just found! I’ll talk about the roads here in a
wheelchair, the hills, the apartment search and the ridiculous views from them,
and anything else I can’t think of right now.
Dear Lord, thanks for everything
You have given me. Thank You for the
abundant opportunities You have afforded me.
Keep me positive. Help me to
dwell on the things I have instead of the things I don’t. Help me to always appreciate life and not
take things for granted, as I did before the accident. Let Rebecca and I be a team as we take on
this new adventure together. Let the
apartment situation work out. Be with
all our friends and family back home.
Fill us all with Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
‘Til next time,
Chip
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